Post-Game Talk: octopuss

[JohnC]

...You do realize he lightly tossed it over the glass to a fan, right? He didn't hurl it like a hand grenade

It was still a bitch ass move tbh

 

[chosen]

If we can't enjoy a loss when we outplay the opponent, and can't celebrate a win when we're outplayed, what are we allowed to be happy about exactly?

Never feel joy about anything in order to fit in.

 

[UnSandvich]

It was still a bitch ass move tbh

eh, i was never really bothered by it. Could he have waited for a better moment? Yeah, probably. But he already had one, and it clearly meant more to the fan then it did to him.

 

[chosen]

We have a chance to get 30 wins before the break. tbh no one here would have thought for that to be possible. The product at 5v5 has been atrocious but it is what it is. I don't know how it gets fixed but I'm not getting paid millions to fix it.

System or Personnel. The age old question.

It's always personnel. ALWAYS.

Coaches can only have short-term impact.

 

[chosen]

Wouldn’t trade either except maybe for McDavid and only one of them at that point.

Wouldn't hesitate for a second to trade both for McDavid.

 

[chosen]

They can ask for a first but Giordano isn’t worth that at this point. He’s expensive too. We have the money to get him and another contract for sure

we also can help get them some prospects which they need desperately

Why would the Rangers pay anything for a rental of a 38-year-old player that couldn't possibly help win a Cup?

 

[romba]

Anyone catch Miller pushing and shoving a forward into the boards in our zone? Wasn't just finishing a check, he actually showed a hint of aggression in loosening up the puck and keeping his man out of the play and knocking him onto his ass. That impressed me more than his goal, which was a great release and accurate.

 

[chosen]

I am.

I'm actively rooting to miss the playoffs because f*** this team and because they need to stop getting comfortable with their goalie carrying them.

It's an insult to me as a fan for this team to see itself as a contender when the Kraken and Coyotes thoroughly outplayed them twice.

Never understood rooting to miss the playoffs unless you have a great shot at landing a jewel.

And as should be obvious, perceived jewels are often not that.

 

[chosen]

I'm not actually an angry curmudgeon which is why I gave hem every chance this year before I got mad.

I get this way because I have a hockey team with a lot of potential (and this is going back to 2014) that blows it doubling down on a style that doesn't f***ing work and the more it doesn't work, the more they think they need to do it, like a boa constrictor. They've regressed towards more and more cartoon hockey with each year that has passed.

And when it once again doesn't work, they'll just go right back to their security blanket that they weren't tough enough and sign some more overpaid grit. Then, next year, since we have Igor, we'll only shoot on clean breakaways and take out the first three rows of the stands so we can back up even more.

The worst thing is, I thought this was all because AV is a f***ing clown (which he still is) and Quinn was over his head, but now we have one of the consensus best coaches in the league and it's the same thing. Evidently, this is coming down from the front office and it's what they want. The inmates are running the asylum.

Glad to see you have come around that it's not about coaching.

 

[chosen]

This team is dying for more NHL caliber top 9 talent. The entire bottom 6 is is AHL caliber, and the the stars are getting gassed because Gallant doesn’t trust anyone else. Drury needs to do something soon.

What scares me is what Drury might do. More Reaves and Tinordi acquisitions?

 

[chosen]

Reaves starting to look every bit of 35 ...he's a Shane Churla end of career beatdown from being NON factor - I don't for a second believe he's anywhere near the deterrent he was 3-4 years ago.
He's actually a liability on some shifts and is a month away form rationing his Games played.
We need another henchman

No player is a deterrent.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

If Messier or Hank did that silver medal toss everyone would be gushing over what a competitor they were, how nothing less than perfection would ever be enough for them.

It became an issue with Lias because he just wasn't a good enough player.

 

[chosen]

Adding a responsible center or 2 would go a long way to fixing thiS problem....
Zibby and strome aren’t great 2-way players...
Zibby gets a pass because he’s signed and he scores goals... his overall play has picked up, but there’s not a lot of players that are scared of facing a hard defensive match up from him. Going on about 3-4 years now...
Strome is an opportunist... he’ll ride Panarins coattails to a new contract, but I’m praying it’s not here. Replacing him with a Larkin/Cirelli type would go a long way.
I’m hoping Barron could be one in house.. he has the tools, Size, and steady responsible play to hold down a 3C position with say Goodrow/Lehkonen on his left and right.... but it’s apparent gallant rather not find this out this season....
I personally have seen enough of chytil at center on NYR, especially in a bottom 6 role.
If they want to keep the wing experiment going, fine by me. But I wouldn’t put him back as a bottom 6 center.
Rooney is fine with Hunt/Reaves and even McKegg sprinkled in....

a large part of our 5v5 breakdowns originate from our center ice positions being weak on the defensive side, and like dominos, it leads to other breakdowns and things going haywire

I think Zib has been hustling like hell on D.

 

[Larrybiv]

I'll take the stolen 2pts... but we're so easy to play against.

we're easy to defend. Perimeter game, no one even thinks about going to the middle.

we're easy to transition and counter. We get caught way too often and are too slow to react

we concede all the ice up to our dots

We can't get through the Neutral Zone with speed or possession

We are out of shape as well. Everything is crumbling before the break. There needs to be adjustments.

Lets hope it's 'fatigue' and we look much better after the break.

stop beating around the bush! Tell us how you really feel.

 

[JimmyG89]

One thing on the Reaves talk. I'm not sure he was supposed to go out there every night, even with the extension that he signed. He also played through and is still likely dealing with whatever injury happened in the Subban situation.

Two weeks off for him is going to be a blessing for him and the majority of the team. Kakko, Chytil, and Fox get all the time in the world to recover and come back 100%. Lots of practice time too. I'd expect Schneider/Jones to go back to Hartford to play games. Not like we need it but sending them down could bank some extra cap space for the deadline as well. Would not mind helping facilitate a deal for a western conference team to pick up an asset along the way on top of the other moves being made.

This game showed one team with elite talent, injuries, and a lack of depth and the other team has a bunch of depth, but a lack of elite talent.

Seattle will be selling. I'd see what it takes to get Blackwell back. You can complain all you want about how he was slotted last season, he's a better NHLer than most of their current bottom 6. I'd expect Gallant to use him more in a 3rd/4th line role. We know what kind of player they'd be getting. Would remove McKegg from the conversation.

 

[duhmetreE]

He has a Russian enigma as his top paid locked down guy to deal with as a first year coach . How do you expect him to handle that ? Rangers patted him on the back last season when he walked away from the club for 3 weeks ....then watched him enter training camp out of shape. Gallant is hog tied on this[and I think we all know it is really eating at him] and we certainly do not have a leadership crew on the team to deal with this via kangaroo court style in the room . This is now a Drury problem...and it has to be looked at at the deadline ....he has to go !!! MOVE Panarin even if only getting cap back. This is not working .

eh I don't think he's the issue.

We saw the team play properly before Covid. I don't know what happened/changed since then but the differences are prevalent. If a team isn't working hard, you need to beat it out of them. You practice like you play and that's the issue.

IMO this team needs a bootcamp mentality when they come back from break

 

[Larrybiv]

KAM is an absolute wild-card.

My man has been flying so low and under the radar. The NHL's radar.
the league is so focused on Fox' greatness, Trouba's bone crunching hits and Lindgren to a lesser extent (been ther longer) that KAM is just mosying along and wont be too much longer that he becomes an offensive weapon. We have seen 1st hand WHAT he can do ( some really nice end to ends) he isnt there yet, but expecting in due time.

 

[CLW]

I really don't think Sather has much to do about anything these days. Dolan gave him a free paycheck for life so he makes sure he still shows his face every once in a while. I don't think there is anything more to it but what the hell do any of us really know.

I forget who says it here but all that's going on is that most of the veteran core players are too happy to go around sniffing their own farts. The best thing this team can do is get Panarin and Mika on one line and forget Strome even exists at the end of the season. Let Mika and Panarin go around sniffing their own farts because that duo can actually be good enough to still do hockey against the better teams. Let the rest of the lines be real hockey lines. Get centers that can actually do center things and this team will look for real next season. They don't have to be amazing centers because Laf or Kakko or maybe both should be amazing wingers. Just get real centers. Real centers will make everyone's lives easier. It will be also nice if these new centers could skate. Kakko looks night and day different offensively compared to last season when he was playing with a center that could actually cycle and supported the puck carrier. As soon as an actual top 6 player got on the left wing that line took off last season. He's pretty much given up playing like that anymore this season because no one helps him ever when he tries to do real hockey things. The top six currently shuts down if a rink wide pass isn't made first. It's like the first line in their program is a conditional statement and the rest of program just never happens unless rink wide pass is made. Teams covet centers for a reason and our top two centers are not real centers. Mika used to be one but he mostly floats around after the rush these days. Luckily, Panarin is good with floaters...unluckily our top two centers are both floaters and there is only one Panarin.

Some counterpoints:

1. Sather is there to make sure things stay on track - according to the vision of his employer and himself. That's the crux of the matter that @Machinehead and others are pointing at. That is why Gorton was jettisoned - Sather and Drury want to make the playoffs, and they want the team to *LOOK* like a contender. That's the extent of their ambition.

Gorton tried to bring in a more profound approach - to build a real team without the fundamental flaws Machinehead points at and bring an intelligence to the operations that is lacking. Sather and Dolan were not interested, that approach took Sather and Dolan out of their comfort zone i.e. no yearly playoffs. (Look at Gorton now at the Habs, the first thing he did was to bring in somebody *smart* - K. Hughes). Quinn was under the whip to make the playoffs last year, even if it was obvious the team had no business being there.

2. This is why Gallant is now sitting there like a fool and talking about wanting more from *'his'* team (just like Quinn was left in no man's land before him) but it's not 'his' crew - the Stars of the team don't give a sh*t they just float about playing to the *IMAGE* of what the NYR should be. Create pond hockey highlight reels, make the playoffs and everything is ok in NYR land.

The Stars know it 100% - it's what gave them the big meal ticket and set them up for life. Sather & The Stars are completely on the same page. Look at the fawning over Henrik Lundqvist that became borderline obscene - that's the NYR in a nutshell.

3. Mika & Panarin. Panarin doesn't last three shifts next to Mika. He hates it! I know they should play on the same line - but it doesn't work because it would require them to do real hockey.

4. Get real centers that actually do center things. This is crucial. But watch Strome get extended because it's the path of least resistance. Just keep up the illusion and all's well in Rangerland. The fans can pretend they have a shot in the playoffs and the circus rolls on. See points 1-3.

5. Laf & Kakko. The kids are left as afterthoughts around the stars. Kakko is doing what he can, working hard to make himself a 200-foot hockey player and build himself up for better days. For Laffy if he cannot make it work reasonably playing with Mika and Kreider he'll be screwed.

6. I know a lot of people are completely on board with Sather & Dolan's approach - just make the playoffs and all's good. If there are problems kick down and blame the kids/coach.

 

[CLW]

Reaves, hits, smiles a lot and can cause his team to be pinned in their own end for 45 second clips.

It took him about 10-15 games to 'get' how things work in Rangerland. Same with Kravtsov.

 

[McRanger92]

Some counterpoints:

1. Sather is there to make sure things stay on track - according to the vision of his employer and himself. That's the crux of the matter that @Machinehead and others are pointing at. That is why Gorton was jettisoned - Sather and Drury want to make the playoffs, and they want the team to *LOOK* like a contender. That's the extent of their ambition.

Gorton tried to bring in a more profound approach - to build a real team without the fundamental flaws Machinehead points at and bring an intelligence to the operations that is lacking. Sather and Dolan were not interested, that approach took Sather and Dolan out of their comfort zone i.e. no yearly playoffs. (Look at Gorton now at the Habs, the first thing he did was to bring in somebody *smart* - K. Hughes). Quinn was under the whip to make the playoffs last year, even if it was obvious the team had no business being there.

2. This is why Gallant is now sitting there like a fool and talking about wanting more from *'his'* team (just like Quinn was left in no man's land before him) but it's not 'his' crew - the Stars of the team don't give a sh*t they just float about playing to the *IMAGE* of what the NYR should be. Create pond hockey highlight reels, make the playoffs and everything is ok in NYR land.

The Stars know it 100% - it's what gave them the big meal ticket and set them up for life. Sather & The Stars are completely on the same page. Look at the fawning over Henrik Lundqvist that became borderline obscene - that's the NYR in a nutshell.

3. Mika & Panarin. Panarin doesn't last three shifts next to Mika. He hates it! I know they should play on the same line - but it doesn't work because it would require them to do real hockey.

4. Get real centers that actually do center things. This is crucial. But watch Strome get extended because it's the path of least resistance. Just keep up the illusion and all's well in Rangerland. The fans can pretend they have a shot in the playoffs and the circus rolls on. See points 1-3.

5. Laf & Kakko. The kids are left as afterthoughts around the stars. Kakko is doing what he can, working hard to make himself a 200-foot hockey player and build himself up for better days. For Laffy if he cannot make it work reasonably playing with Mika and Kreider he'll be screwed.

6. I know a lot of people are completely on board with Sather & Dolan's approach - just make the playoffs and all's good. If there are problems kick down and blame the kids/coach.

Its not that deep. Yesterday's game was an atrocity but the team has no depth, its as simple as that. I dont get why people are now convincing themselves that the core is rotten, despite them being the only players who show up on a nightly basis.

 

[leetch99]

eh I don't think he's the issue.

We saw the team play properly before Covid. I don't know what happened/changed since then but the differences are prevalent. If a team isn't working hard, you need to beat it out of them. You practice like you play and that's the issue.

IMO this team needs a bootcamp mentality when they come back from break

He takes every second game off...I'm not sure he could even finish a bag skate like practice let alone multiple ones.... how many times has that worked to make the coach - star player relationship improve ?

 

[kovazub94]

Never understood rooting to miss the playoffs unless you have a great shot at landing a jewel.

And as should be obvious, perceived jewels are often not that.

Unless one can rig a lottery I see miniscule correlation between missing playoffs and landing a jewel. Rooting against your team that's in Rangers' stage of rebuild is a symptom of a pretty clear diagnosis.

 

[Machinehead]

Never understood rooting to miss the playoffs unless you have a great shot at landing a jewel.

And as should be obvious, perceived jewels are often not that.

My reasoning for rooting to miss the playoffs is f*** 'em. I understand many fans will never think that, but that's my reasoning.

Real hockey players manage to pick up a goal every 10 games when playing in the top 6.

Not when they're playing on a pretend hockey team. I refuse to judge forwards as individuals in this organization. Even Panarin sucks at everything but the powerplay now.

 

[duhmetreE]

My man has been flying so low and under the radar. The NHL's radar.
the league is so focused on Fox' greatness, Trouba's bone crunching hits and Lindgren to a lesser extent (been ther longer) that KAM is just mosying along and wont be too much longer that he becomes an offensive weapon. We have seen 1st hand WHAT he can do ( some really nice end to ends) he isnt there yet, but expecting in due time.

I'm pretty confident his offensive game is going to develop/take off 'all of a sudden' in a few seasons..

 

[tlk]

He takes every second game off...

He hasn't registered on the scoreboard once in the last eight. Five of which were multi-pointers.
4th in assists and 10th in points league-wide. Let's bootcamp the sh*t out of him!
Boy, do fans love to construct convoluted stuff on the Internet.

As for patting on the back when he "left the team for 3 weeks" I refuse to believe the main reason for the whole circus was the "security people making calls" as Gorton went on record to say. That is, the over-reaction by a trigger happy business when it comes to the image and sh*t. Exactly what the hack job was aiming for.
Until proven otherwise.